NPHS students learn lessons, gain perspective on homelessness
New Prague High School National Honor Society students prepared for a night sleeping outdoors in tents and cardboard boxes Thursday, March 2, as part of an exercise learning about homelessness. Seventeen students participated in the chaperoned event where the overnight temperature dipped into the mid-teens. (Submitted photo)
They have endured a small taste what life is like as a person without a permanent home, a lesson some will use to better appreciate the lifestyle they enjoy.
A group of 17 New Prague High School National Honor Society students spent Thursday evening, March 2, learning about life as a homeless person. The chaperoned group spent the night sleeping outdoors in a makeshift tent city using small tents or large boxes. They slept in sleeping bags covered in blankets and using body heat for warmth as temperatures dipped into the mid-teens.
And without the benefits of a shower or other facilities to clean up for the day, the students went directly from their sleeping quarters to class for the day.
Before retiring for the night, the group exersice participated in a makeshift game based on trying to make ends meet based on a job where they earn $15 an hour. They had to address choices on spending and unforeseen expenses, like car repairs or a child who asks for money for a school field trip.
“It’s really different to see what it’s like to be homeless,” said NPHS senior Anna Schellin. “We could go inside if we had to, but people who are homeless don’t have that.”
Lizzie Wieskus, a senior at the high school, said she learned homelessness in the area is a...
To see more on this story pick up the March 8, 2023 print edition of The New Prague Times.
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